Indiana University holds an institutional membership in the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH). CUGH’s mission is to support academic institutions and partners to improve the wellbeing of people and the planet through education, research, service and advocacy.
“Faculty members, staff and trainees engaged in global health and health equity efforts throughout the university benefit from IU’s membership in CUGH,” said Adrian Gardner, MD, MPH, director of the IU Center for Global Health. “I encourage exploration and participation in the many opportunities that CUGH provides to expand knowledge and collaboration between people working to advance health and human flourishing within our university and around the world,” he added.
More than 180 organizations in 39 countries are part of CUGH which offers members a variety of benefits including:
- Access to CUGH’s online job opportunities board and funding opportunities board
- Updates on global health activities from around the world via CUGH’s Global Health Bulletin
- Participation in CUGH’s committees and subcommittees
- Networking with leading academic global health programs and directors
- Participation in advocacy efforts on global health issues
- Access to CUGH’s online information hub of educational and program development materials and research materials
- Ability to crowdsource research questions
The annual CUGH conference occurs virtually on March 12-14, 2021. This year’s keynote speakers are Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Hugo Lopez-Gatell, MD, MS, PhD, deputy secretary of Prevention and Health Promotion of Mexico. Conference tracks include social determinants of health, COVID-19, emerging infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, strengthening health systems, and translation and implementation science.
Several Indiana University faculty members and their international colleagues plan to present research at the conference. Early bird registration has been extended through January 31 and the deadline to register is March 10.
Miriam Barr, administrator for the IU Center for Global Health, recently accepted an invitation to join the consortium’s Global Health Operations Committee (GHOC). The committee is charged with identifying and developing guiding principles and strategies to enhance university administrations’ procedural and financial alignment with programmatic priorities in global health. “I look forward to working with colleagues to share best practices related to areas such as managing risk, financial services, travel and human resources,” said Barr. “Our 30-year partnership in Kenya will certainly provide some experience that we can share with our colleagues and I’m certain their experiences will be valuable to us as well.”